OTTAWA, July 11, 2011 /CNW/ - Pharmacists looking to perfect their patient care skills and embrace an expanded role in medication management and collaborative care can now turn to a ground-breaking continuing education (CE) course recently launched by the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA).

Registration is now open for ADAPT - a validated and accredited 19-week online multimedia course designed to fast-track the practising pharmacist's ability to provide outcomes-focused patient care. The program covers topics such as medication assessment, documentation, collaborating with other health care providers, patient interviewing and assessment, evidence-based decision making and developing care plans. ADAPT is carried out in an interactive online environment (through the University of Waterloo Centre for Extended Learning), and makes use of extensive peer-to-peer knowledge exchange to enhance learning.

"All across Canada, pharmacists are experiencing shifts in their scopes of practice and reimbursement models. Pharmacists are becoming enabled, and expected, to provide more patient-focused care and medication management services, " says Janet Cooper, senior director of professional and membership affairs at CPhA. "ADAPT provides pharmacist with the skills they need for this level of care and service, and the confidence to use these skills."

ADAPT is unlike any other CE developed for the profession in Canada, in terms of the depth and breadth of the curriculum as well as its innovative learning platform, according to ADAPT Co-Chair Dr. Barbara Farrell. Dr. Farrell is an interdisciplinary team pharmacist and clinical research coordinator with Bruyère Continuing Care in Ottawa, and is Canada's Pharmacist of the Year for 2011.

"The course is built on a solid foundation of research into the optimal knowledge base, skill set, attitude and communications techniques pharmacists need as patient care providers," she explains. "What also sets ADAPT apart is that it integrates into daily practice - pharmacists who take the course try out their new skills in their own setting, and get feedback from their colleagues, patients and collaborating health care providers. ADAPT absolutely changes how you practise, while you practise."

Funded in part by Health Canada and developed in partnership with the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) and the CPhA-CSHP Primary Care Pharmacy Specialty Network, ADAPT was piloted in late 2010 with a nationally representative cohort of 75 pharmacists. ADAPT is now open to all practising Canadian pharmacists.

"ADAPT connected me with other Canadian pharmacists who are taking the initiative to stand for their value, their expertise and their profession," says Tara Maltman-Just , director of integrative clinical programs at CD Whyte Ridge Pharmacy in Winnipeg, Man. "Recently, a patient told me 'thank-you -  I have been waiting for someone to help me this way for decades.'"

The next ADAPT course runs August 3 - December 13, 2011. Course prospectus, learning objectives, and registration information are available at www.pharmacists.ca/adapt.

The Canadian Pharmacists Association is the national organization of pharmacists, committed to providing leadership for the profession and improving the health of Canadians. -- www.pharmacists.ca

For further information:
Heather Mohr, CPhA Project Manager, Pharmacy Innovation
(613) 523-7877, x248
hmohr@pharmacists.ca